i am my own worst enemy.

comparison is the thief of joy. - theodore roosevelt

& boy, did mr. roosevelt have it right. 

everyday we are tempted by envy. look at how great her hair is. i wish i had her body or her clothes. we wish & we want whatever it is we don't have. her job is always going to seem better & the grass in her white picket fenced life…greener. 

it is so incredibly easy to be sucked in by jealousy.

but what we sometimes, well, most the time, don't realize is that every time we pick out the great things in her (or his) life, we amplify the things we dislike about our own. i do it to myself more often than i'd like to admit. i am one day feeling happy with my life, my success, my job etc. & then i see someone with more. suddenly, my life is lacking, my successes dimished & i want to quit my job! we open our social media accounts & immediately rob ourselves of our own joy and accomplishments.

…………….

WHY? why, oh why do we do that to ourselves?

look down at your body. does it breathe for you? does is house your soul safely? do you have a job at all? a roof over your head? did someone else's successes take all of yours away?

i am totally a pot calling the kettle here, because i duel with jealous thoughts daily; but i am writing this post in hopes that it'll urge you & remind myself to be thankful for what we have. i think a small amount of envy is appropriate, it keeps us working hard & ignites our ambition to achieve more, but the fine line is often crossed & that envy can turn to hate and swallow whole, the beauty in our own lives.

besides, if God gave you the life of another, think of all the things and people you would have to give up. hardly seems worth it, even if i did end up with mermaid hair :) so be thankful for what you have today and every day. put your focus and positive energy on all the wonderful things and relationships your life has to offer you, the grass is not greener on the the other side, it is green where you water it!

"if you have enough, then you don't need more."

happy tuesday!